The Girl Who Forgot
by Hux333
Summary: Naomi is just an average, working class Australian girl, with nothing exciting to look forward to. That is, of course, until the mysterious Doctor rescues her from blood-thirsty shadows to take her on a whirlwind adventure to save an alien race.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

She looked up briefly, if not to compose herself, then to simply take in her surroundings. The sky was a brilliant but sinister red, and the air around her smelt of death and destruction. In the surrounding forests, huge fires burnt away whatever beauty had existed before. But none of that mattered to her. All that mattered was that the man, kneeling before her and begging for mercy would receive nothing of the sort, but would be killed by her hand.

"Please," his voice cracked with agony, and his eyes filled with tears once again. "I have done nothing wrong!" He lied, of course. It was his fault the war had even started; she knew it to be true, as did all the others that had fought with her, and in turn, died before her eyes.

"Enough," She said, and then without hesitation struck the man down with one swing of her sword. From behind her she heard a woman scream with sorrow; she had thought she was alone. This could mean something terrible, or that is how she saw it, at the very least. And very rarely was she wrong. The woman pushed by her and held the recently dead man in her arms, as though he were her entire world. The woman sobbed, and then turned to look at her with dark eyes.

"What have you done?" The woman cried out dramatically. "Sirah, what have you done?" Sirah looked back down at the woman; she had been walking away, sick of all this nonsense.

"How do you know my name?" She asked the woman, struggling to keep the fear from showing in her expression. The woman smirked, as though Sirah's fear gave her new strength and confidence.

"I know many things, Sirah. You have destroyed the wrong man here tonight, and so you will pay. I heard his last thoughts, as I do when those I love die, and I suffer. But you, demon warrior child, will suffer even more." She looked up to the sky and began to mumble, and Sirah felt her blood run cold.

"You cannot scare me, witch. I fear your magic not." She tried to stand her ground, but the overwhelming sense of fear she now had stole away whatever confidence remained. Her eyes widened as she watched the woman take a dagger from her skirt and stab herself in the stomach. She felt to the ground on top of the man, and began to die. Sirah doubled over in pain, and began to scream out. "What is this? What is happening?"

A sharp, burning sensation on the back of her hand attracted Sirah's attention. She watch on with horror as her skin began to scar itself, a single word forming in blood. She was too scared to even realise that the scarring would be permanent, or that more scars were slowly forming on her body. She stared at the single word until it finished forming itself, and then began to cry.

_Justice, _the word was.

_Justice. _

In what seemed like a whole other universe, which was actually just a different planet, a young, shortish girl with light brown hair was walking down the street from her work. The peak-hour traffic noises made it impossible for her to hear her iPod properly without deafening herself or making her ears bleed, so she gave up and shoved it back into her pocket with a sigh. Sometimes she wished she could escape the city in which she lived. Sure, it was a smaller city than the others, but not only was it noisy every time she had to walk somewhere, but it was also the most boring place she had ever been to in her life, and she was stuck there.

Yet even though she hated the fact that it was noisy, she didn't rush home. Naomi was never one to rush, simply because she was worried she'd miss something important. She had noticed things so many times before whilst walking slowly somewhere that had mattered later on in life. But there were of course some things that could escape even _her _notice. But if anyone were to ask her, she'd deny it. The thing is that no one asked her, or pointed out the things that she missed. So she didn't realise that she was being hunted by shadows her whole walk home.

Not until she went to unlock the front door and found that it was already opened. Bracing herself, she slowly edged the door open and called out, "Who's there?" She lived alone, so the door being open was very strange indeed. She didn't expect an answer, of course. A robber or murderer wouldn't call back to her. But a response it what she received anyway.

"I'm the Doctor. You're house is a war zone. Well, it's about to be. Did you know that it's full of shadows?" The source of the voice wasn't in view. Naomi closed the door behind her and edged towards the sound of the voice, which seemed to be coming from the kitchen.

"Well, shadows generally form when there's a light source. Do you need help with something? Mentally, perhaps?" She couldn't resist being sarcastic and cruel when the opportunity arose. It was her automatic defensive response to danger, a response she fine-tuned and developed throughout her horrible high-school years.

"Yes, ha, you're very funny," the 'Doctor' clearly wasn't amused. "But these shadows are out to kill you, and they survive without light. But I don't quite know what they are. Long story short-" There was a crash, and then Naomi peeked around the corner into the kitchen.

Standing in the middle of the room was a strange, gangly man in a brown suit. His hair was messy and he had a rather large chin. He turned to look at her and she noticed his bow-tie and suspenders, both of which were a distinctive blue. He didn't look very confident. In fact, he looked a little afraid. "What just happened?" Naomi asked severely. The 'Doctor' looked back over his shoulder, and then began to run, pulling Naomi along behind him by the arm.

"You need to come with me, and we need to get out of here, okay? I'll explain it all when we're safe!" He pulled her out the front door and then a little further down the road. He stopped short in front of a blue phone box, and then opened the door. "In," he demanded, and Naomi was too confused to come up with an excuse not to. She stepped inside, and looked around. The Doctor pushed passed her, closing the door behind her and walking over to what looked like the main controls in a panic.

"Bigger on the inside...Awesome," Naomi said in an attempt to hide her amazement. In reality, she was freaking out more that she had only five minutes earlier.

"Okay, I like you. Usually people are too shocked by it all to think." Naomi tried not to meet his gaze, but instead continued to try and be impressive. She didn't know why, but she felt a need to impress this mysterious man. "What's your name, miss 'I'm not scared by the TARDIS?'" The Doctor didn't pause to look at her; he seemed to be doing something important.

"I'm Naomi." The Doctor smiled, and Naomi wasn't sure what to make of it. "And you, you were the Doctor, right? Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor," he said with a smirk. "And you? Naomi who?" Naomi seized the opportunity to make a snide remark.

"Just Naomi." This remark made the Doctor pause, and he looked a little bewildered.

"Alright, '_just Naomi,'_ hold on tight!" He pulled one last lever on the controls, and the machine began to lurch and make strange noises.

"What is this thing?" Naomi yelled, holding onto a nearby railing for support as she was nearly thrown off her feet.

"Time and relative dimension in space, also known as TARDIS; she's a time machine! Well, and a space machine. She travels through time and space, as the name suggests. Isn't she beautiful?" He stroked the main part of the controls lovingly, and Naomi felt that it was a little strange.

"Shall I leave you two alone for a moment, then?" She yelled.

"That's quite enough from you!" The Doctor laughed and gathered himself together, acting like nothing had happened at all. He started to dart around again, and Naomi guessed that they would be landing soon. Wherever… and whenever that may be. But the Doctor looked concerned, and this made Naomi worried.

"What's up, Doc?" He didn't look at her, but was staring a small television screen with worry.

"Well, we were headed to another country, but it seems that we… we're being dragged by something. We're being forced into a different time and place. The land outside the TARDIS now is hostile. Something's not right here, and there are two options. Something wants our help… or something wants us dead. Most likely the second option; that's what usually happens when I'm around." Both the Doctor and Naomi fell forwards and the TARDIS was stopped in its tracks. Naomi began to stand but the Doctor stopped her. "Shh," he said, and they both waited on the ground. After a few moments there was a knock at the door.

"Doctor? Are you in there, Doctor? I need your help!" The Doctor scrambled to his feet, but was still cautious when opening the door. Naomi followed in and gasped in shock. The girl standing before them was covered in scars that looked like words, and she was in tears. "They're coming for me!"

"Who are?" The Doctor asked as the girl tried to enter.

"The Witches – they're coming. Please help me!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Not too long after, Naomi found herself comforting the young girl covered in scars. She held a cup of tea in her hands, shivering from cold that Naomi couldn't feel. The Doctor was pacing, deep in thought, anxiously waiting for the young girl to finally compose herself to speak some sense. Fierceness had risen in him, Naomi had noticed; a fierceness that a father would have if his child were in danger.

"Can you at least tell me your name?" The Doctor asked sharply. The girl cringed, but spoke quietly.

"My name is Sirah. I'm a warrior… I was a warrior. From the planet Fior." The Doctor smiled.

"Beautiful planet, that one is. People there are fierce and very protective. They believe in freedom; they were slaves once upon a time for the Ocali. Yes, very beautiful planet indeed. Lots of different kinds of flowers, some of them even made of fire. I remember watching a child try to smell one," he told Naomi, and she smiled too, but only for a brief moment.

"Was." Said Sirah sadly. "It _was _a beautiful planet." She didn't give time for the Doctor to question it. "It was destroyed by the Ocali perhaps a year ago now. We wouldn't let them take over again, so they killed us instead." She sighed and took a sip of tea. Naomi watched the Doctor with the hope that he would have something to say, something to give Sirah hope. He had nothing.

"And the witches I suppose…"

"Before the planet was destroyed, a small group of us were sent out to hunt down the leader of the Ocali and to kill him. Anything for freedom. I found him, and I killed him, no questions asked. You learn to kill without thought when my people teach you. But he was married to a witch, and she was the one who ordered the destruction of my planet, and she was also the one who cursed me." She pulled back her sleeves to reveal scars all up her arms. The Doctor gasped and knelt before her. "The last thoughts of those whom I care about are etched onto my skin permanently. A reminder of what happens when one dies. Punishment for my actions."

"You poor, poor beautiful thing." He said, tracing the scars lightly. But his eyes suddenly widened, as though he noticed or remembered something terrible, and pulled away to begin pacing again.

"Now you know why I am here, Doctor." Naomi, in confusion, looked at Sirah's arms. Layered in scars were the words _Help us Doctor! Help us! _Naomi looked between Sirah and the Doctor several times before slumping back in her chair, defeated.

"How do they know who I am?" The Doctor asked, not looking at Sirah. She took another long drink before explaining.

"There's this story we have for children. The story of the Doctor who saved a young Fior in a forest on a far away planet; you saved her from something terrible. Something horrible. You saved her life. You are a warrior and a hero on our planet, and we use your name to teach bravery to warriors as they come up through the ranks. You're a legend to us, Doctor. Of course they would think of you to save them when there was no other hope." She stood and touched the Doctor's shoulder. "And you're real! I thought I was chasing a story. But you're real!"

"Of course I'm real," he said, looking over his shoulder slightly. "All legends come from somewhere."

"Yes, but sometimes they come from the imagination, Doctor, and that's what most of us assumed. But here you are; real as ever, and I need your help. There aren't many of us left, Doctor, and we need you to save us. We need you to stop this stupid war so that we can live in peace."

The Doctor paced for a while and Sirah watched him with a hopeful gaze that slowly faded. When she was looking at the floor, Naomi decided that she would try to convince to Doctor to help. But he stopped her requests and raised another important issue.

"I'll help, but we still need to find out what those shadows were and why they were hunting you. They aren't Vashta Nerada, so what are they?" He turned away, tapping at his head as though it would wake up something from inside his mind and would give in an answer. Sirah's head snapped up and she looked right at Naomi with worried eyes.

"There are shadows hunting you?" She asked. Naomi nodded.

"That's how I ended up here with the Doctor in the first place, I suppose," she said. Sirah stood and rushed over to Naomi, and seemed to be searching her eyes for something. Naomi just stood still, trying not to freak out about it all.

"The witches sometimes take the form of a shadow. I thought they were only hunting us." She snatched up Naomi's wrist and then looked at the Doctor. "We should check that she doesn't have a small drop of our DNA in her; it's possible. We have mixed with humans before." The Doctor whirled around and pulled Sirah away.

"_I'll_ check. I don't like your methods," he said darkly, and Naomi didn't even want to imagine what those methods were if the Doctor didn't approve of them. He scanned her with the strange sonic screwdriver, and paused with shock. His eyes were wide only for a moment before he composed himself and smiled. "She's completely human," he said, although Sirah wasn't entirely convinced.

"They were also hunting you, Doctor. They don't want you to intervene."

"That's probably why they were at Naomi's house; they were waiting for me." Sirah sighed with exasperation and decided that sitting back in her chair was the best way to avoid an argument.

There was a commanding and strange knock at the TARDIS door, the kind of knock that immediately makes one think of either danger or authority. A chorus of voices said from the other side, "Let us in, Doctor, and we will spare you." The voices sounded like a whisper, or like the wind, and Naomi backed away as far as she could to try and protect herself.

"The witches – they've found you." Sirah said, wide-eyed. "You can't really go far from this point, Doctor."

The Doctor flashed her a mischievous smile and said, without missing a beat, "We're in a TARDIS, Sirah; we can go anywhere," and he pulled one of the levers with a smug look on his face, and the TARDIS began to fly away, although Naomi wasn't too sure where exactly. She was simply glad it was away from the shadows.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

The TARDIS materialized in seconds, and almost instantly there was another knock at the door. Naomi's eyes widened.

"I thought we were escaping the witches?" She said in a sharp whisper, and the Doctor shot a glare in her direction. Sirah started to walk slowly towards the door in a threatening way, as though she were an animal stalking prey. The Doctor followed behind her, his lanky form clumsy and awkward in comparison. He called out, asking who the knocker was.

The response came in a smooth, silky, and slightly annoyed voice. "Since when did you lock the door, Sweetie?" The Doctor stiffened, and straightened his bowtie. Sirah still didn't move from her defensive position, yet the Doctor ignored it, slipping by her in an awkward fashion to open the door for the unknown woman behind it. She had crazy, curly blonde hair, and she wore a tight, black dress. She walked with a confidence that demanded attention. She was obviously familiar with the TARDIS. "Hello Sweetie," She said seductively, and she stroked the Doctor's cheek in an all too affectionate way.

"River," he managed to choke out, startled and obviously out of his depth. Sirah relaxed, sensing that the new arrival was a friend and not a threat. Naomi, however, still hid behind the console, wondering just how many people the Doctor had travelled with, and how many of them were women. The Doctor and River spoke, eventually falling into a pattern of flirtatious comments as the story of the witches was retold.

"That's not like you, Sweetie, running away from danger. Usually you're the cause of it." She said with a wink.

"No, River, that's _you _that causes the trouble, and I'm the one who has to fix it." He rolled his eyes, and then stiffened once more as she walked towards the console. Her eyes fell upon Naomi, and Naomi felt herself standing up taller, no longer hiding. They stared each other down for a while before River turned to the Doctor.

"What happened to my parents, Doctor?" She asked, and the Doctor smiled.

"River, they are fine. They are on Earth, and right now, nothing bad is happening, okay? Don't worry." River relaxed, and then extended a hand to Naomi. They very politely exchanged names and places of origin. River glanced at the Doctor, as though she thought he was hiding something, but he gave a small shrug and so she left it.

"So, these witches… I assume we are going to waltz in and take out their leader or something?" She asked, and the Doctor nodded.

"Seems like the best plan." He said simply, and began to work at the controls. River continued to try and find out more about Naomi, looking at her with a searching gaze as she did so. For several moments, Sirah was forgotten, until she doubled over and began to scream in pain.

"Sirah!" Naomi shouted out, knocking River out of the way to go to the warrior's side. She was holding her hand, wincing in pain, and all Naomi could think to do was to put a caring arm around Sirah's shoulders. Eventually, her sobbing subsided, and she looked at her hand with caution.

_Don't try to stop them, Sirah. They'll kill you. Save yourself. I love you. _The words stretched from her wrist to the tip of her middle finger. She took a deep, long breath in, before looking up at the Doctor with dark eyes. "Let's hurry up and finish this," she said darkly, and all the Doctor could do was nod in agreement.


End file.
